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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: swing · wind · cue · arm · stock · degree · mouse · hand

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stock — shares
  6. degree — from a university
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cue — for pool
  10. degree — temperature
  11. stock — goods
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — music
  17. cue — a hint
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. swing — in golf
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wind — moving air
  23. hand — help
  24. cue — a signal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com